BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

I'm looking for things to do outside of NYC and boroughs. Any advice on camping, daytrips, etc.?

How far from NYC? YOu can go 3 hours away and be in the middle of the country, with all the camping and campgrounds you can ask for. My brother happens to work in one of those campgrounds.

The Catskills are wonderful and close. The Adirondacks are farther away and wilder.

I'm sure there are closer, including Long Island, if you know where to look but be careful, its an hour and a half from the center to the wilder parts of Long Island.

Then there is Fire Island, a wilder Island nearby. Never been there, but wanted to go.



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Are you looking for camping on beaches or in forests? Lakes? Rivers? Historical sites? There is a little of everything all within a few hours of NYC. What time of year?

Mainly this time of year and through summer. I'm looking for more camping/beaches and any other suggestions. 1-3 hours out of NYC would be preffered.

thanks!

If you are going in the summer you could hang with the rich & famous in the Hamptons in Long Island. There are some nice beaches and places to hang out. I usually go to Hampton Bays, which is like, the most ghetto of the Hamptons. Ha ha. All kidding aside, the Hamptons aren't like they make it on TV. It's not all filthy rich people. However, it is kinda neat to drive around and look at the beach-side mansions in the ritzy parts. I've also heard the Jersey Shore has a nice beach.

There are also some wine trails in Long Island (and upstate).
http://www.liwines.com/

In the Bronx, you gotta check out the zoo. http://www.bronxzoo.com/

If you are into shopping, the Woodbury Commons outlets are one of the best (upscale) outlet centers in the country. It's maybe about 1-1/2 or 2 hours north of NYC or so.

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Ok 1-3 hours away is a good range.

In that range you have Conneticut, a nice wooded suburb of NYC,
long island which actually has a park on it.

The catskills, which I recommend. I recommend Mongaup Pond as a campground because I know the people there personally. Its got a big lake. Nice camping, but there are many other campground. 3 hours away may even get you wilder camping in the adirondacks.

Now if you want a beach, well, go to the Jersey Shore. I recommend Avalon beach if you want a family private place, we went there for years, and theres a campground nearby.

Some like Cape May. It is full of nice homes and is very classy, to be sure. The beach there isn't bad, and I like wildwood, though I don't know where the campgrounds near wildwood are. Wildwood is a pretty urban beach town, which is why I like it.

New Jersey beaches have plenty of white sand and calm surf. Its not much for surfing, and for me, thats a very good thing.

Or, for some combination fun, theres atlantic city. Theres a dirty beach that has great water, and theres casinos. No, its not vegas, but they have great shows, and there should be campground nearby. I go there from philly when I want to go to a beach town. Why? I pay 16 dollars for a two way bus ride, and I get 8 bucks in quarters when I arrive.

Which, I usally promptly cash in and spend in a restaurant there. Philly summers can be roasting hot and humid. A cool ocean breeze is very welcome.

Sometimes I even go in the water, when someone can watch my things.

Theres also philadelphia, which is one and a half hours by the China bus, and its a good day trip. The buses run well into the night.

Also, don't discount NYC itself. Central park can be VERY nice, especially since the crime during the day has largely disapeared. Fire Island is close, and there may be camping there.. let me check.

Things To Do On Fire Island

Fire Island is unlike anywhere else on earth. With beautiful beaches, unique communities, dynamic culture of Pines and Cherry Grove and miles of boardwalks and walkways to explore, Fire Island has it all! You will never be bored on Fire Island – unless you want to be! Fire Island has activities for everyone, including camping, hiking, observing wildlife, surfing, boating, sports, fishing and swimming. And of course, Fire Island also features amazing New York restaurants, one-of-a-kind clubs, charming bars like Flynn’s Fire Island, and other dynamic nightlife. So eat, drink and be merry while you explore Fire Island!

Since there are so many fun and relaxing things to do on this beautiful island, FireIsland.com wants to make sure you don't miss out on anything. The following are some exciting activities that you can dive right into as soon as you disembark from the Fire Island ferry:

ire Island is a short drive from the Metropolitan New York area. Follow our driving directions or for door-to-door directions, use google maps (enter 99 Maple Ave., Bay Shore, NY as your destination).

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Take the Cross Island Parkway / Eastern L.I. for 3.9 miles to Exit 29E
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Continue on Grand Central Parkway (exit only) for 8.1 miles to Exit 31A
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Continue on Meadow Brook Parkway / Jones Beach for 5.8 miles to Exit M6E
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Continue on Southern State Parkway / Eastern Long Island for 16 miles to Exit 40
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Continue on Robert Moses Causeway / Ocean Beaches for 2.8 miles to Exit RM 2E
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Continue on Route 27A / Bay Shore for 2.9 miles to 4th Traffic L
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Continue on Maple Avenue (right turn / south) for 0.4 miles to Fire Island Ferry Terminal (left turn)

Driving From New York City
Take the Grand Central and continue as above. Or take the Long Island Expressway and continue with the Meadowbrook Parkway as above.

Driving from Brooklyn and points south:
Take the Belt Parkway to the Southern State East to Exit 42 South (5th Ave. Bay Shore). Make left off ramp and then a quick right onto Fifth Avenue. Take Fifth Avenue to the first traffic light after the LIRR tracks. Turn left onto Union Boulevard. At the third light, make right onto Fourth Avenue, which becomes Maple Avenue after the next light (Main Street). Ferries leave from the first parking lot on the left.

http://www.fireisland.com/thingsToDo.php

Thats it... I've never been there. Maybe you'll go there for me.

There was always talk of it in my family, but we never actually made the effort to drive there.

I imagine you'll have to reserve a campsite in advance there, and it says only tent camping is allowed.

A bit over two hours south of NYC is the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Despite being in the midst of one of the most densely populated regions on the planet, it's surprising remote. There are a number of State Forests within the million-acre National Pinelands Reserve that offer some pretty nicecamping. My wife and I just got back from a few days in the area and practically had the whole of Brendan Byrne State Forest to ourselves.

It's a great area for biking, with hundreds of miles of barely-used but paved roads. There is also the 50-mile-long Batona Trail for hiking and a number of beautiful rivers for canoeing. If you're lucky, you might spot the Jersey Devil, the area's resident monster. If you get tired of the woods while you're down there, you're within 30 miles of beaches of Long Beach Island and there are a number of historical sites scattered throughout the Pines.

There are some great suggestions here that I'll add a little to:

Going south from NYC in geographic order:

Sandy Hook - about an hour from NYC. beautiful beach for a day trip. Beautiful beaches with city views on one side, good windsurfing bay on the other. You can take a ferry from the city.

Pinelands - as Haci said, this is an amazingly remote spot in the middle of everything. It is also considered a world biosphere site, there is no other place like it on earth and there are species of plants found nowhere else. It's also full of folklore, etc. Definitely a place outside of the usual tourist route. One nice camping area within the Barrens is Batso. And once you are down in the Barrens, you are close to some nice beaches for day tripping.

Atlantic City/Cape May - If you like to gamble AC may be worth a stop. AC itself is really just a big casino but there are a few outlying towns with good beaches (Ocean City is quaint with a cute boardwalk). Cape May & Wildwood as noted above.

Delaware - You can take a ferry from Cape May right into Rahobuth , Delaware which is a beachy shopping sort of place. But my favorite spot around the corner is Cape Henelopen. Great beach camping, beautiful beaches, nature watching.


Back up in northern NJ try the Delaware Water Gap Recreation area. The gap runs 40 miles through PA & NJ. I've been mostly to the northern NJ area which is beautiful. you've got great campiing, hiking (the Appalachain trail runs through part of the park), and water sports like tubing & canoeing.


I live in NJ so that's where my expertise lies. There are many little unknown gems hear and there throughout the state. If you find yourself in NJ near a specific spot, I can probably point you in a good direction.

thanks for the info.

As a fellow Long Islander, I'd be happy to tell you that there are lots to do out on this island. For one, the beaches. Jones Beach is the most well-known. Fire Island, mentioned above is great too. Locals prefer Lido Beach and Long Beach (less tourists). Long Beach also has a nice strip of bars and clubs. The Hamptons can also be fun, if you have the money to spend.

Long Island has some good hiking trails. Check out the LI Greenbelt out east. There's some good spots to kayak and canoe around Suffolk, too.

A personal favorite spot of mine is Port Jefferson (on the north shore). Port Jeff. is mostly known for it's ferry that connects eastern LI'ers to Bridgeport, CT. However, Port Jeff. is a quaint town, right on the Long Island Sound. There's tons of great bars and restaurants.

Should Long Island not fit your fancy, head down the Jersey Shore. Just cue up any Springsteen song, and you'll hear about how great this location once was (beaches, arcades, carnivals). Since getting left behind, economically, from the Reagan years, the Shore has been making a bit of a comeback. No longer will you find hypodermic needles in the sand.

Should the smell push you away from Jersey, you can head to the third state in the "Tri-State Area": Connecticut. There's plenty of great beaches around both Fairfield (on the southwest) and New London (on the southeast). There's good mountain biking paths around the Southington area. Head into Bristol to tour the ESPN studios. Norwalk, Hartford, and New Haven have great bar scenes. Go east to find two casinos: Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. You can also take a ferry from New London to Block Island.

Long Island - Port Jefferson is nice in the summer to walk around, grab some fresh fish...

Fire island, Jones beach, and even all the way out to the Hamptons and Montauck...But be aware on the weekends there is awful traffic going out and coming back from the hamptions, Friday going out sunday coming back so take the train from the city or something...

You have the Catskills in Upstate New York, and for an even farther drive you can hit up Lake George area

Long Island has great beaches! I love Lido West best, but Robert Moses also is really nice, as is Jones Beach. Ah, I miss the sand between my toes.

If you like kayaking, you can go on the Peconic out in Riverhead, LI. There are also a bunch of wineries in Riverhead.

OR

Go to New Paltz, NY. I was just there today. It's 75 miles outside of NYC. It is fantastic. Great hiking, climbing, biking, running, cute town (if you go, visit the Bistro -- I love that restaurant! I went there last night, YUM!).

Have fun!

cherie, did you read about New Paltz in a recent Time Out NY? They just did an article and now I want to go check it out too.